Ron Perlman Joins Guillermo del Toro On Pacific Rim; Production Begins! Principal photography on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim begins this week in Toronto. Wired caught up with del Toro before cameras started rolling, where he revealed a few details.

After Guillermo del Toro's announcement of his upcoming monster vs robot epic, the film finally enters principal production. And a new member joins the cast, here's what del Toro had to say:

"We start shooting next Monday on 'Pacific Rim'," says del Toro, "which is a gigantic production for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. We are wrapping production on a smaller, very powerful horror film called Mama, which I am producing. Chuck and I are working on a series of books that I can't talk too much about. But we started on that about two weeks ago. I'm still working on animation at DreamWorks. I'm keeping myself pretty busy."

The director also spoke about the film's cast, confirming that del Toro regular Ron Perlman has signed on.

"We are working with actors that I absolutely adore," he continues. "Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman. It's really, it's a very, very beautiful poem to giant monsters. Giant monsters versus giant robots. Twenty-five-story-high robots beating the crap out of 25-story-high monsters. We're trying to create a world in which the characters are real and how it would affect our world politically, how it would affect the landscape if creatures like this really came out of the sea, etc."

When an alien attack threatens the Earth's existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace. Pacific Rim is set for May 10, 2013 release.

Guillermo Del Toro Fields Questions About Pacific Rim And The Hulk Television Show Guillermo del Toro has a number of potatoes in the oven but arguably the biggest potatoes are his ambitious mecha monster rumble flick, Pacific Rim and his involvement with the Hulk's return to TV.

Source: io9

Speaking to io9, Del Toro fielded questions about the current status of Pacific Rim and the Hulk television show.

Following up on discussions about del Toro's novel and graphic novel, The Strain, io9 asks him to elaborate on putting his personal spin on the monster movie genre with Frankenstein and Pacific Rim:

Del Toro: The reality is that it comes not from a goal, but from the fact that I'm fulfilling my bucket list as a kid.

Del Toro goes on to open up more about how Pacific Rim is progressing:

Del Toro: Very good, we're at the end of our second week. We are shooting everything for the main complex in the movie, which is a huge complex in Hong Kong where the robots are maintained. We are doing that, while building downtown Hong Kong streets.

Del Toro: Very good. We delivered the screenplay to the network. I have a very specific idea of how to do it, and we're waiting for the green light. We know all the iterations of the Hulk pretty good. We've read all the essential stories, and we're then riffing on that. There are so many incarnations and ideas. Jeph Loeb — who did a good run [on Hulk: Grey] — is involved, and I love Peter David's Hulk. But there's really no part in that mythos that we don't know, so we are trying put our own personal spin on it.

The Q&A closed Del Toro discussing what's currently inspiring him:

Del Toro: I really enjoyed Drive and [director Kim Ji-woon's] I Saw The Devil, which is absolutely insane and brutal. I recommend it for the not faint of heart.

Del Toro previously described the monsters in the film, Pacific Rim to be "Huge" and stated that the film involves them traveling through a vortex in the pacific rim where they attack major cities and humans must battle them by using mecha suits called Jaegers. He commented,"This is my most un-modest film, this has everything. The scale is enormous and I'm just a big kid having fun."

CBC News has just posted this great behind-the-scenes video giving us our first look at Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. A film that will pit giant monsters versus humans in giant robot suits. One such place that an epic battle will surely take place is Tokyo. There will be plenty of destruction, but for this film the the real city won't be used, as Toronto will be disguised to look like Tokyo.

Mailboxes with Japanese characters appeared in downtown Toronto on Tuesday.Mailboxes with Japanese characters appeared in downtown Toronto on Tuesday. The directors spared no details in giving the streetscape an authentic look, everything from fake metro station signs to plastic cherry blossoms attached to the trees. - CBC News

New PACIFIC RIM (Low-Res) Still Gives Us Our First Look At Charlie Hunnam

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Had enough of vampires yet? Well, just before you get too jaded by the bloodsuckers, it might be worth waiting on this tv adaptation of Guillermo del Toro's very well received book trilogy. Read on for details..Mark "RorMachine" Cassidy - 9/21/2012

THR report that Guillermo del Toro and co-writer Chuck Hogan will write and produce an adaptation of their vampire book trilogy The Strain for FX, with Lost show-runner Carlton Cuse on board as executive producer.

The novels revolve around a vampire virus that infects New York, and the Doctor who investigates. The story treats these Vampires more as parasitic creatures than the brooding monsters of myth, and drops all of the romanticism that tends to be associated with them. It's an interesting take and might well make for a great tv show.

The first book, The Strain, was published in 2009, and was followed by 2010's The Fall and the final installment, 2011's The Night Eternal. The Strain was also adapted into a comic series by writer David Lapham and artist Mike Huddleston for Dark Horse. The 8th issue of which is out now.

Director Guillermo Del Toro will be signing copies of this propaganda style poster for his upcoming monsters vs robots flick at NYCC tomorrow, and you can check out the artwork by Raúl Monge here. A tie-in graphic novel has also been announced..Mark "RorMachine" Cassidy - 10/11/2012

"Raúl is one of my top concept designers. The idea with this particular piece was to emulate an old WWII propaganda poster/flyer that went along with the world we were creating. It symbolizes rationing - voluntary work force, no guts, no glory kind of heroism." said Del Toro of the poster and its artist. In addition, it has been announced that a graphic novel penned by the movie's writer Travis Beacham is also in the works, that will serve as a prequel in three parts.

Del Toro will be signing copies at the Legendary Entertainment booth on Friday, October 12 at 2 pm. The art will also be unveiled at the Legendary panel at 5:15 pm.

When director Guillermo del Toro was at New York Comic-Con he brought along with him scanned images from his personal notebook. The images feature characters and scenes from his upcoming robots versus monsters epic, Pacific Rim.

John Hurt Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN As 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'

Deadline reports that John Hurt has joined the cast of The Strain (FX's small screen adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's vampire novel trilogy) as 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'. They go on to describe his character as, "a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States after World War II and now runs a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem. As the outbreak spreads, he may be the only one with answers – if anyone will listen." Hurt will be the co-lead opposite Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro. "I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever," said del Toro. "Chuck and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!" The series has a pilot order (which will be helmed by the Pacific Rim director) but is being eyed for a full 13-episode pickup according to various outlets.

Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam have all signed up to star in Legendary Pictures and Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, and now Supernatural and Justified star Jim Beaver has confirmed that he has also joined the cast. You can read his full statement on the casting by clicking on the link in the Tweet below. Del Toro wrote the haunted house thriller - which is set to begin production in February 2014 - with Matthew Robbins and Lucinda Coxon, and is expected to make this his first movie after the epic looking Pacific Rim.

An FX spokesperson was unable to give details on the role at press time.

Astin joins the pilot’s stars Mia Maestro and Corey Stoll.

Del Toro and Hogan are co-writing the pilot script, with del Toro attached to direct. Cuse (“Lost,” “Bates Motel”) is executive producing and will oversee the project with del Toro. He will serve as showrunner if the pilot goes to series.

“The Strain” follows Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City, as he and his team investigate what appears to be an outbreak of vampirism. They soon need to fight for the fate of humanity itself.

Nobody knows monsters like del Toro, and in the following video interview with Total Film he and the likes of Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Robert Kazinsky, Charlie Day and Burn Gorman reveal their favorites.

Robert Maillet Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN As 'The Master'

The Wrap reports that Robert Maillet has joined the cast of The Strain as 'The Master'; an ancient vampire who is described as an, "evil that has nested in secret and darkness, feasting on human suffering until now, emerging from the shadows to force a new world order." Maillet was once best known as 'Kurrgan the Interrogator' in the WWE in the late 90's, although his acting credits now include the likes of Pacific Rim, Sherlock Holmes and 300. He joins an impressive cast which includes Corey Stoll, John Hurt, Kevin Durand, Mía Maestro, Sean Astin and Doug Jones. The series has a pilot order (which will be helmed by the Pacific Rim director) but is being eyed for a full 13-episode pickup according to various outlets.

The Strain is a 2009 vampire horror novel which was written by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. This was followed by The Fall and The Night Eternal. While it was originally envisioned as a television series, del Toro's inability to find a buyer led him to adapting it into this trilogy of novels and later a Dark Horse graphic novel. Well, work is now finally moving ahead on a small screen adaptation, with the Pacific Rim helmer set to direct the first episode. Talking at the TCA press tour this week, FX CEO John Landgraf was asked how graphic the show will be. "It’s pretty graphic. It’s a horror show. I think you can expect content commensurate with The Walking Dead or American Horror Story." As for how the network is planning on adapting the trilogy, he make it clear that they have a very clear plan in mind and have already set out a specific number of episodes in order to faithfully adapt the story and NOT drag it out unnecessarily. "It’s a trilogy, and the trilogy ends the story. It’s a truly epic story. And when Guillermo [del Toro] came in to sell it, one of the things they made clear is that they wanted to tell the story of the books. That story would be told over three, four or five seasons. They have work to do, in terms of figuring out how they are going to resituate that story, in an episodic television series, but it will be somewhere between 39 and 65 episodes. No less and no more, and I’m really excited about that." Del Toro has so far assembled an impressive cast which includes Corey Stoll, John Hurt, Kevin Durand, Mía Maestro, Sean Astin, Robert Maillet and Doug Jones. It's believed that the first season has already been picked up for a 13-episode run.

The TV adaptation of Guillermo del Toro’s best selling novel The Strain has just received a brand new teaser trailer. FX is gearing up for the highly anticipated premiere of this anti-Twilight vampire horror series by giving everyone a taste of the scale of terror that will be cast upon New York City. Oh, and just a heads up: if you thought you were confused after the first teaser trailer that released last month, prepare to be left in the complete dark by this one, literally.

Though no official release date has been announced, The Strain is expected to be crashing into living rooms sometime in July. The show has already been ordered for thirteen episodes, with the pilot episode supposedly being currently in production. I’ve heard several folks suggest that The Strain will be FX’s vampiric answer to AMC’s The Walking Dead, if that gives any context to those unfamiliar with the show’s source material. Join us as we keep our eyes locked on this one leading up to its debut on FX this summer!